Supporting a healthy Puget Sound for the EPA

Across the pond from the S&K Global Solutions office in Bremerton, WA, a number of skilled S&K employees work with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) providing facilities management support services. The EPA Region 10 headquarters is located on 6th Avenue in downtown Seattle, WA, where approximately 677 people work on 11 floors. The region also has a warehouse five miles from the main office.

Serving Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and 271 Native Tribes, the EPA Region 10 manages several key sites across the pacific northwest and Alaska. Some of the agency’s biggest projects include protections around Bristol Bay mining activities, chemical impacts on the Columbia River, the health of the Puget Sound, hundreds of smaller cleanup sites, and support services for many tribal programs.

EPA Office in Seattle.

S&K Global Solutions is the prime contractor for this project but a significant portion of the work is provided by our team mates from NATECH. The combined team provides a variety of support services ranging from operating the EPA’s mailroom, provisioning office supplies, configuring conference/training rooms, and insuring that the EPA’s fleet of service vehicles are ‘road-ready’ by 7:30 am each morning.

“Our team supports the EPA office in a background nature, such that customers may not notice how things are running smoothly–sort of like how we all take for granted that hot water will come out when we turn the tap but quickly realize what a luxury this is when this service is disrupted for some reason!” said Ken Schumacher, Project Manager.

Each year, the team processes over 120,000 pieces of mail of which strict records are maintained and security processes must be followed. Every piece of incoming mail must be x-rayed and logged before distribution.

Along with their regular duties, some teammates provide graphic design and professional printing services- often with very short turnaround times. These include creating brochures, flyers, banners, and mailers. The team also performs on-site property management inventories and occasional delivery services between the National Archives storage facility in Seattle.

Despite being mostly behind the scenes, the S&K Global Solutions team has a tremendous positive impact and is frequently recognized by EPA employees who appreciate the high standard of service they receive each day.

We are proud of the hard work our employees put in to making things flow smoothly for the EPA so they can in turn succeed at their projects,” said Ken. “Our main goal, along with the EPA, is to benefit the ecological health of the entire northwest region.”